RAS Art Focus

Qipao as an Interface:

Inter-referencing Aesthetics, Identity, and Cultural Memory

Sunday, 24 August 2025

3:45 pm Registration

4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Zoom on-line event

RAS Art Focus would like to extend a deep gratitude to our members and friends who have supported, collaborated and participated in the 2024-2025 series China's Arts and Aesthetics of the Past, curated and moderated by Julie Chun,Art Focus Convener and Art Historian. We spent a full year, engaging each month with guest speakers, (including curators, artists, museum directors, and scholars) who provided their expertise on objects that came to define and refine China's historical arts and aesthetics ranging from simple wooden handicrafts to imperial jade.

We close out our series with a summer session on zoom with two notable scholars who will provide an in-depth discourse on a ubiquitous attire that many of us are familiar with but understand little of its historical significance..

The Qipao (旗袍) or Cheongsam, is not just a beautiful garment—it is a storytelling interface, weaving together threads of history, identity, and culture across generations. Originally evolving from Qing Dynasty robes and later taking vibrant new forms in the early 20th-century, particularly in cosmopolitan Shanghai and Singapore, the qipao is deeply intertwined with shifting notions of femininity, modernity, and cultural expression. This seminar invites you to explore the aesthetics of the qipao through the lens of inter-referencing, examining how its form and style mediate intercultural dialogues, reflect social transformations, and narrate evolving histories.

Referencing "Talking Cheongsams," a 2019 interactive exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore, we will delve into how the garment's iconic silhouette, fabric choices, patterns, and craftsmanship reflect the complex interactions between Eastern traditions and Western influences, particularly visible during its golden eras in 1930s Shanghai and mid-20th-century Singapore. Through engaging personal narratives and visual examples from historical sources, popular media, fashion, and innovative multimedia installations, we will uncover the stories hidden within the folds and embroidery of the elegant dress.

Inspired by textile metaphors from thinkers like Barthes and Derrida, we view the qipao as a woven narrative—a textile-based text that embodies resilience, transformation, and cultural exchange. Contemporary reinterpretations, such as interactive installations and multimedia performances, further illustrate how the qipao continues to convey personal stories and societal shifts, capturing imaginations today.

Join us in this fascinating session as we unravel the intricate layers of the qipao's aesthetic evolution, exploring how it continues to shape our understanding of cultural identity, heritage, and memory in our rapidly changing world.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Hedren Sum is Research Fellow for Digital Humanities at National University of Singapore. He is an interdisciplinary scholar specialising in digital approaches, ontology-based frameworks, knowledge organisation systems and immersive technologies to transform cultural heritage interpretation and engagement. Hedren's work bridges art history, information science, and cultural heritage, exploring how XR and AI redefine historical content analysis and experience. He has collaborated on international projects and presented his work globally, including across Southeast Asia, the UK, Australia, the US, and the United Nations in Geneva. Formerly at NTU Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity (NISTH), he led strategic initiatives fostering interdisciplinary research to address complex societal challenges. His diverse roles, including as a digital scholarship librarian and Head of Content and Technology at HOL Experiences, a leading UX consultancy, reflect his commitment to advancing research and public engagement through digital methodologies.

Dr. Galina Mihaleva is Associate Professor at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Arizona State University. She is an artist and fashion designer specialising in wearable technology and founder of Future Fashion LOOM.01 Her work explores the dialogue between body and garment, focusing on responsive clothing as a physical and psychological "second skin." Mihaleva's multidisciplinary research integrates media art, textile design, performance art, material science, bio-design, and the humanities. She previously taught at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and has exhibited internationally at venues such as the World of Wearable Art, ArtScience Museum, National Museum, and MAD Museum in Singapore, Nelson Museum in New Zealand, and Textile Museum in Belgium.